Meet and greet

This Auckland home wasn’t afraid to go bold with pattern and colour

In early 2013, Sarah and Chris Sheild decided it was time to move on from their beloved 1960s family home and find somewhere new with more space for their growing children.

After selling their home of seven years, the couple rented during a disheartening nine-month search. Their non-negotiable criteria complicated things further – they needed to remain in the Westlake school zones, and they required a short settlement as their rental term was up.

At the close of that year, Sarah spontaneously went to the auction of a house they’d viewed five months earlier and won the auction.

“We weren’t in love with it but we were slightly desperate and conscious of the rate at which the housing market was going up,” explains Sarah. “The house ticked a few boxes – it was in the right school zone, it was newly renovated and felt like a new home, and there was nothing offensive about it.” Plus, all the walls were painted white, so it was a pristine backdrop on which Sarah could unleash her imagination and flair for design.

Q&A with Sarah

Sarah, what wouldn’t you do again?
Install textured wallpaper while we have Missy the cat. She’s an indoor cat (she’s afraid of the neighbours’ cat) and has treated Izzy’s wallpaper like a tree in a couple of places. Mind you, this is the only wallpaper in the house that she’s attacked.

Best lesson learned?
I was a bit put off buying this house initially as it was fully renovated, and as a designer I really wanted a home that I could put my own stamp on. However, I’ve now learned that even if a home is a bit ‘cookie cutter’, or if you haven’t had anything to do with the design or choice of fittings, you can still make it your own and inject personality into the home. We have achieved this by using wallpaper; for example we’ve now got ‘wooden’ walls and ‘concrete’ walls that you need to touch to see if they’re real or not!

Where have you saved money on your home’s decoration?
On the wallpaper.

What have you splurged on?
The Tolix B2 locker (from Madder & Rouge) in the kitchen – we didn’t have enough cabinets and desperately needed more storage. The Comback rocker chair by Patricia Urquiola for Kartell – I love chairs and I conned Chris into buying this for my birthday a couple of years ago. The folding leather butterfly chair from Paper Room – another one for my chair addiction, and I adore this iconic design.

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The contemporary kitchen was newly completed when the family purchased the house and fortunately the previous owners had chosen to stick with a simple white palette.

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All the walls were painted white to create a pristine backdrop on which Sarah could unleash her imagination and flair for design. The horizontal hand-screen-printed ‘Fork’ by Tracy Kendall is another unexpected addition.

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The neutral palette of the ‘Geometric Relief’ wallpaper above the cabinets sets the tone for the adjacent living spaces and is reflected in Sarah’s choice of bar stools and pendant lighting.

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A black-lacquered piano is complemented by a wallpaper aptly titled ‘Love Notes’, which features a musical score. The fuchsia Schiaparelli velvet cushion on the piano stool adds a bold punch of colour.

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The sofa at one end of the open-plan living space faces inwards during winter, but in spring Sarah spins it around to look out over the deck and flame tree.

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Sarah has treated her walls like artworks.

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The striking jewel tones in the master bedroom appear to contrast with the monochrome palette in the kitchen and living areas at first, but Sarah has cleverly threaded feature colours through her design.

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Sarah has connected the two floors by using turquoise and gold cushions in the living room and black accents in the bedroom.

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The main living area is striking with its strong black-and-white aesthetic and abundant textures.

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An original 1960s white Kartell Componibili unit is used to hide away all those messy electrical cords.

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The house, as well as being very liveable, is a lesson in what can be achieved on a reasonably limited budget with great imagination and flair.

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Sarah’s favourite area to decorate was the family room. With so much choice at her fingertips, she took her time before finally opting for a Piet Boon design called ‘Concrete’.

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Izzy’s bedroom is a colourful and energising space that has been decorated in turquoise ‘Savine’ wallpaper by Designers Guild.

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The paper’s blurred stripes contrast with the hot pinks, reds and oranges in her rag rug, the throws on the bed and the Marimekko cushion on her hanging pod chair.

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Fletcher’s room has a more subdued palette. On all walls the realistic ‘Scrapwood’ wallpaper creates an illusion of old demolition timber.

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A trestle table along the wall holds a lamp that acts as both a desk light and a bedside reading lamp, while a round charcoal Armadillo rug anchors the room.